DURHAM, NC, Sporting Alert – The Duke Blue Devils aim to rebound from a defeat in their last outing when they host Georgia Tech in a nationally-televised game at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, Wednesday night. Live television coverage will be on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. You can also Listen Live, Watch Live and follow Live Stats online for the entire game. Line: DUKE -20.0 O/U: 138.5.
DUKE PREPARING FOR COACH K’S ABSENCE
The No. 8 ranked team in the country heads into the game knowing that head coach Mike Krzyzewski will step away for a moment to deal with a persistent back problem.
Coach Krzyzewski will lead the team in Wednesday’s game against Georgia Tech before undergoing lower back surgery Friday to remove a fragment of a herniated disc.
Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike KrzyzewskiThe experienced coach is set to miss at least a month of sideline coaching to recover from the injury.
In Coach K’s absence, associate head coach Jeff Capel will coach the team and several college basketball pundits believe this is an important period in Capel’s coaching career, as it could decide his future.
Duke (12-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) enters this game with a 7-0 record at home this season but suffered a 14-point loss at Virginia Tech in its ACC opener over the weekend.
Georgia Tech (9-4, 1-0 ACC) shocked then-No. 9 North Carolina 75-63 on Saturday and heads into this game hoping to perform another major upset.
VISITORS TO UPSET BLUE DEVILS?
The Yellow Jackets have won three games for the first time this season and with the schedule isn’t expected to get any easier in the coming weeks, beating Duke would give them the kind of confidence they would need to make a big league run.
Jayson Tatum and teammate Grayson Allen from DukeFour Georgia Tech players, led by Ben Lammers, are scoring in double-digits this season.
Lammers is averaging 14.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, with Josh Okogie providing 14.2 points, Tadric Jackson at 11.3 and Quinton Stephens with 10.2 points and 8.2 rebounds being the other main contributors for the Yellow Jackets this season.
Luke Kennard with 21.4 points per game leads five Duke players averaging double figures in scoring this campaign.
Kennard is ranked second in the ACC in scoring this season and has scored 20-point or more eight times this term. He is also averaging six rebounds per contest.
Grayson Allen, who was suspended against Virginia Tech is putting out 16.0 points per game, Jayson Tatum is averaging 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game through six games, while Amile Jefferson is averaging a double-double with 13.8 points and 10.9 boards per outing.
Freshman point guard Frank Jackson contributing 11.8 points this fall for the Blue Devils, who are scoring 82.9 points per game.
Duke has won 33 of the last 36 games against Georgia Tech, while the Blue Devils lead the overall series 70-23, and are 57-19 since the Yellow Jackets joined the ACC.
